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334 victims lose $213,000 to Taylor Swift concert ticket scams in January and February

2024-03-01 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-新加坡原网页

SINGAPORE – At least 334 victims have fallen prey to scams involving the sale of Taylor Swift concert tickets in January and February, with losses amounting to a staggering $213,000.

The police issued a statement on March 1, highlighting the alarmingly high number of cases of concert ticket fraud that have been plaguing online platforms.

Scammers have been exploiting fans’ eagerness to attend American pop star Swift’s concerts, which begin in Singapore on March 2.

The fraudsters typically post listings for tickets on online platforms such as Telegram, X, Facebook and Xiaohongshu, before moving conversations to private messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and WeChat to finalise the fraudulent transactions.

Victims are often instructed to make payments via PayNow, bank transfers, or with virtual credits such as iTunes cards.

The realisation that they have been scammed comes too late, either when the tickets are not delivered or the seller becomes unreachable or, for those who do receive tickets, when they are turned away at the venue due to invalid tickets.

In response to these incidents, the police have reminded the public to exercise caution when purchasing concert tickets.

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They advise against buying from third-party resellers and recommend using authorised sellers and legitimate ticket marketplaces that offer ticket verification and guaranteed refunds for invalid tickets.

The police also encourage the public to adopt precautionary measures such as using the ScamShield app, setting security features on banking transactions, and verifying the authenticity of tickets with official sources.

Members of the public who have information on such scams or unsure if they are being scammed are urged to contact the police hotline on 1800-255-0000, or submit information online at the official police website.

For urgent assistance, the public should dial 999. The police also suggest visiting www.scamalert.sg or calling the Anti-Scam Helpline for more information on scams.